With Tyler working away on the DWV and supply lines I decided to tackle the mortar bed for the shower in the master bathroom. Since I've never done one before, this should be interesting...

We picked up a How-To book at Lowe's that had some excellent directions on how to build up the mortar bed. So, we bought all of the materials and brought them home. I couldn't get over how many layers of goop and stuff went into a tiled shower. The layers were:

1. Building Paper - Incredibly stinky stuff. Everytime I walked by it I was worried that my cats had marked it.
2. Mastiplasti - A plastic alternative to metal lath that is normally used. Since it was sold by the same company that made the mortar, I figured it was safe to use. That, and searches of both Menard's and Lowe's turned up no metal lath.
3. Mortar - This is the first layer of goop that, when dry, gives the slope to the shower so that the water runs towards the drain.
Shower Pan Liner - This is the rubber material that makes the shower water tight.

There are some more layers to the mortar bed. But, these are the only ones I needed to get done before we had our plumbing inspection. The rest wait till the plumbing is approved and we can put up drywall.

Proof that Tyler doesn't do everything on the house... I'm trying to calculate the slope of the mortar bed so I can mark a reference line along the edge of the shower. Once in place, I'll use the line to figure out how high the mortar bed should go up on the side of the curb.